Wolf God
When you sit down to listen to any Grand Magus album, you know you’re in for a treat. Their latest album, ‘Wolf God’ is no different. Wolf God is the Swedish metallers ninth offering in their almost twenty year career.
The album begins with an almost ethereal folk inspired track, ‘Gold and Glory’. It is completely instrumental – the calm before the storm you might say, because what comes next is forty minutes of head banging, fist punching the air, heavy metal, delivered in the way that only Grand Magus can.
Things are changed up slightly at track six with ‘Spear Thrower’. This has echoes of early Iron Maiden or Saxon. It’s definitely a track for the moshpit. This track wants you to dive in head first, rather than just nod your head! It has a real punk feel.
The penultimate track is a real treat as well. A song with a chugging guitar riff and anthemic chorus. This is a track that would be a great show closer, or opener, or in fact it would fit just about anywhere in a Magus live set. It really has that pulsing power that you want from a metal anthem.
All in all, Wolf God is brilliant. My only gripe, and this is only small, is the length of the album. At just over 40 minutes, I was left hungry, wanting more. This of course didn’t take away from the experience of the album, it is exceptionally good. It’s like going to a fancy restaurant… They serve you the best, but they give you tiny portions… inevitably, you come away hungry and buy a portion of chips on the way home. I just felt a little disappointed there wasn’t more. Having said that, what Grand Magus does offer is the finest cut of T bone steak! 40 minutes of splendid Viking metal.
